LAFAYETTE — A little-known evangelist from Louisiana has become a rising star in the South ever since he added the title “Apostle” to his name. George Mahaley, once a no-name itinerant preacher who criss-crossed Alabama in a trailer with his family, is now packing out large churches and selling truckloads of books.

“It really was simple,” he said in a phone interview. “I just woke up one morning and started calling myself ‘Apostle Mahaley.’ I printed up letterhead to that effect, and changed my voice mail. People started paying attention.”

He made no other change in his ministry, which friends have characterized as “decent preaching with a few funny personal anecdotes.”

Mahaley had sold cars and carpets before entering the ministry in 1988. But he struggled and sometimes sold “magic wands” door to door to supplement his income.

“A magic wand is something you wave over your head and it sort of makes you feel better,” he says. “It’s more an idea than a product. The people who bought them knew that.”

He made the ‘Apostle’ change because he “thought it was a good marketing idea and I had to juice things up.” Friends of his are considering making similar name changes and “coming into their full ministry potential.” •